12 Days of Christmas
by rhead-a-holyc
Summary: Collection for the 12 Days of Christmas challenge in The Golden Snitch Forum, using the Australian Version of the Song. Warning for bullying (ch 5)
1. Emu Up A Gum Tree

Arthur would have liked to say that the first time he had spotted Errol, the owl had been resting magnificently on a perch in Eeylops. That was what he had always imagined his owl to be: a magnificent specimen that was the envy of everyone who saw him.

He'd dreamt of the day he would go to buy a family owl with Molly since fifth year. That an owl would float down towards them, settling on a nearby perch, and hoot regally to garner their attention.

A sudden thud against his head, and a haphazard wing across his eyes were all the warning Arthur got before the owl was asleep with his beak pressed into his skull. Molly giggled softly at his side, and the storekeeper rushed towards them, red-faced and apologetic.

"He does that a lot," the shopkeeper muttered, carefully removing the bird from Arthur's hair. "He's a good owl, really, but he was involved in an accident with his last owner, a Potion Master, and hasn't been the same since."

The owl bolted upright as soon as the wizard's hands began stroking his feathers and peered at Arthur as Molly dragged him to look at the other owls. Arthur thought the look held a hint of betrayal, and he turned away, determined not to look at the owl again.

It was Molly who kept turning back to look at the odd owl every few minutes, no matter the rich brown barn owl that craned its neck towards them, nor the beautiful white owl that seemed determined to proudly ignore them.

"I know what you're thinking, Molly, but we have to get an owl that's functional," Arthur whispered.

"He's functional! He'll only take a little longer to deliver our post, and be a little more clumsy, but that doesn't mean he's less of an owl than any of the others!" Molly's arms were crossed now, and Arthur knew he wasn't going to win this battle.

He'd tried it several times before with no success. Molly was the hard-headed woman he had fallen in love with, and Arthur knew he gave into her requests more often than he probably should, but if Molly said they would manage; they would manage.

Even if Lucius had a good laugh at Arthur's expense. If he could train the owl to do so, Arthur would train the bird to fall asleep on Lucius's hair as often as possible – and Arthur thought he may send letters to Lucius for that purpose alone.

Arthur held Molly's eye for a moment longer, before relenting with a heavy sigh.

"What would you like to name him?"

Molly smiled widely at Arthur's question, and pulled Arthur along with her towards the front of the store, where the shopkeeper was still keeping an eye on the owl.

"Errol. Because he just took a roll and landed on your head for us to notice him." Molly snickered at Arthur's slack-jawed expression.

"I feel like the entire family is going to know the story by the next family gathering," Arthur whined, dragging his feet towards the shopkeeper to inform the wizard of their ridiculous decision.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – Emu up a gum tree: Write about Pigwidgeon or Errol being selected by the Weasleys**


	2. Two Pink Galahs

Parvati sighed, staring at her new crimson drapes in dismay. Her sister was somewhere in another tower, probably staring at the navy drapes around her own bed, or perhaps she had fallen asleep almost immediately – Parvati knew how tired Padma usually got after being surrounded by people.

It was the first time her twin wasn't in the room next door; a mere arm's reach away during sleep. Parvati wouldn't be able to sneak into Padma's bed during thunderstorms, nor would they be able to whisper each other to sleep.

"Hey," came a whisper from between the slit between her curtains on the right. "Your sister was Sorted into Ravenclaw, wasn't she?"

Pulling the curtains further apart, Parvati motioned for the blonde girl to join her on the bed. The curtains around her other neighbour, the bushy-haired Hermione Granger, were tightly shut already.

"Yeah. First night at Hogwarts, and I'm already missing how things were at home. I'm supposed to be a Gryffindor, but all I can think about is how far away Padma is in the Ravenclaw dorms." Her eyes were beginning to burn at the finality of saying it aloud. She furiously scrubbed her face, even thought she was sure the other girl knew exactly what was going on.

"I heard the Ravenclaw common room doesn't really have a password. It's just a riddle. The night's still young, and we have several hours to get lost within the halls of Hogwarts," the girl exclaimed in a loud whisper. "I'm Lavender, by the way. I was going to introduce myself to everyone in the dorm, but it looks like some of my introductions are going to have to wait for tomorrow."

"Wait, are we going to go _now_? Do you really want to get in trouble on the first night?" Parvati almost forgot to whisper in her shock.

"Well, it's our first night, so I don't know if we'll get into _too much_ trouble, and anyway, we're Gryffindors: the most reckless of the bunch. If you want to go see your sister, let's go see your sister!"

They didn't make it past the common room before they we spotted.

"What would two firsties be doing sneaking out on their first night?"

"Perhaps they're trying to break our record. We only started on the third night, after all."

"Why, Gred, we're being displaced already!"

Lavender and Parvati looked between the red-haired twins, slowly realising that the two weren't prefects.

"We're trying to get to Ravenclaw tower," Lavender said firmly, while Parvati felt as if she had been rendered mute.

"Ravenclaw tower, huh?"

"Well, then, Forge, I believe it is our duty to escort these ladies to their destination."

"Indeed, Gred, and if Filch happens to have a surprise along the way, that isn't our fault."

Parvati got the distinct impression that they were getting involved in something they shouldn't, but her need to see her sister overpowered any misgivings she would have had.

"Alright, then. As long as you get us to the right place, and don't get us in trouble." Lavender narrowed her gaze at the two. "I've heard about the two of you."

"Ooh, I'm spooked, Gred."

"I'm trembling in my slippers, Forge."

They followed the twins, who stopped every few steps and consulted a piece of parchment between them, out of the brightly lit common room with it's roaring fire and into the dimmer stone-walled passages of the castle. With all the twists and turns, Parvati was glad not to have to wander the corridors with Lavender and hope that they were going in the right direction.

"Your destination, miladies," the first twin bowed, and the second followed suit. Parvati and Lavender giggled at their antics. "We'll be back for the two of you at around midnight, so you don't get lost on your way back."

Parvati reached out to bang the knocker, and a voice rang out.

"When does yesterday come after today?"

"The riddle," Lavender whispered. "I'm afraid I'm not too good at riddles. I mean, there's a reason I'm not a Ravenclaw."

Instead, the door swung open before they could answer. A tall female stood at the entrance, frown softening as she spotted the two of them huddled together.

"Did you get lost?"

"Umm, I, uh, I wanted to-" Parvati stuttered, still certain that this was going to get the two of them in trouble.

"She wanted to see her sister – her _twin_ sister," Lavender interjected quickly, receiving a look that was part gratitude, part terror from Parvati.

"I'm guessing it's the same first year that's been moping around the common room for the last half an hour? I suppose we can let you in without the password this one time," the girl said, stepping aside.

Parvati grabbed Lavender's hand and entered the common room eagerly.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 2 pink galahs: Write about Lavender and Parvati's friendship**


	3. Three Kookaburras Laughing

He settled above the chatter and laughter that filled the Great Hall, somewhere between the enchantment of the sky and the true ceiling of the hall. The other ghosts mingled with the students at their preferred table.

Peeves didn't have a preferred table, and the Professors never appreciated him joining them. It gave him time to contemplate the students below him; all the first years would know him by the end of the second day.

It was amazing to think about the fact that only decades ago, he had been a person who didn't know magic existed. Now he haunted one of the most magical places in the United Kingdom that hosted some of the most privileged, yet stupid people on the face of the Earth. It was careless, and allowed him to get away with more pranks than he really would have had any of them taken a moment to actually think.

The problem was, if they did get smarter, _he_ would have to get better at his pranks to catch them. It would require more effort and preparation, and fewer students to prank a year. His job would be more tricky, and it wasn't every year that he managed to adopt a group of pranksters to help him with his bidding.

Or perhaps it was him that assisted them – preventing them from getting caught by distracting Filch.

Blinking down at the hall, his eyes scanned the tables and ran across the walls. Argus wasn't present today, and Mrs Norris wasn't hanging around either.

It would be a real pity to leave the two alone on an even as wonderful as the start of term feast! Tipping the goblet of an unsuspecting Slytherin so that the liquid spilled all over him, and tossing a random morsel at a quiet Ravenclaw, Peeves whizzed out the door, intending to find his favourite caretaker.

Argus had always reminded Peeves of the person he had been when he had been alive – a bitter man, unhappy with is lot in life, and angry at the world – and misery always liked company.

"Argy!" Peeves screamed down the corridor, gaining disgusted looks from several of the more regal portraits, and sighs from the rest.

"Leave the poor man alone! He's going to have enough to do when the term starts."

"Peeves! Stop this foolishness at once!"

The voices lingered in the background with all the other advice Peeves had ignored after deciding to do something.

"Nori!" Peeves screamed down another corridor.

"You! Can't you leave me and Mrs Norris alone?" Argus grumbled as soon as Peeves settled next to the man with his furious pace. "You exist to make our lives difficult!"

"Imagine how boring your life would be without me! No messes to clean up. No one to cheer you up when you're ready to hang students by their toes in the dungeon. You'd miss me if I were gone!" Peeves fluttered his eyelashes at the caretaker, and Mrs Norris uttered a low growl.

"Don't worry, I'm not stealing your owner, Nori!" Peeves said, increasing his speed slightly to run a hand down Mrs Norris' back. "You're far more beautiful."

The cat purred in delight.

"Stop seducing her! Mrs Norris won't fall for your trap this year. She's going to find all your antics, jjust you wait."

"Is that a dare, Argy?"

Argus glared, stomping away, and Peeves decided to let him.

He would have all year to prove that Mrs Norris was on his side too.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 3 kookaburras laughing: write about Peeves**


	4. Four Koalas Cuddling

Her hair fluttered in the light breeze courtesy of the open windows as her feet swung beneath her. Luna's attention, however, was on her mother, as the witch's quill flew across the parchment that held symbols and calculations that Luna couldn't understand.

Luna's mother rarely allowed her inside her experimental room, but today was one of the days when her mother intended to work fully on the theoretical aspects of her latest idea. Luna wasn't even sure if her mother had her wand on her or not, but Luna was sure her mother could use magic without one – her mother was that good.

Watching her father work on his latest article was always disappointingly boring, even while listening to his furious muttering and occasional manic laugh. Her mother, on the other hand, wrote and drew and danced, occasionally even taking a moment to tap Luna on the nose with a wide smile whenever she became too frustrated.

A shout from somewhere above them had the two of them pausing curiously. Their eyes met, and after a moment of silence, shrugged it off – one shout was usually spilled tea.

"I think Dad's upset," Luna said, eyes widening as a few muffled sounds followed the shout.

"Your father is always upset after so much silence." Pandora laughed, placing a few paperweights over her parchment and picking Luna up with a twirl. "Let's go see what's upset him so much this time, huh?"

"Let's save Daddy!" Luna exclaimed, pointing in the general direction of the muffled shouting.

It took them less than a minute to climb up the stairs and into the living room that also served as Xenophilius' work area. The man had climbed onto his chair and looked to be fending off a creature by jabbing his wand at it.

"Daddy! We've come to save you!" Luna said immediately, squirming in her mother's arms.

"Go save your father, mighty warrior! I shall be your second!" Pandora said. Luna ran up to her father as soon as her feet hit the floor, stumbling slightly over a mass of parchment and books.

"Spider!" Xenopilius whimpered, eyes roving the area near his chair. He had stopped jabbing his wand around, but didn't look to be climbing off his chair just yet.

"Ah, warrior, assist the man. I shall capture the beast!"

The spider sailed through the air seconds later, and into a container that had arrived only moments before the spider. Xenopilius shuddered and nearly toppled backwards at the sight of it, but Luna clung to the man's legs.

"The beast is captured, Daddy. You can come down now!" Luna said cheerfully, as Xenophilius let out a deep sigh of relief, half-collapsing into the chair he had been standing on with his wand still clutched tightly in his right hand.

"Aren't you going to give your saviour a reward?" Pandora teased, re-entering the room without the spider.

"Reward! Reward! Reward!"

"What would you like, my warrior ladies?" Xenopilius asked, glancing between Luna and Pandora with a tired smile.

"I'd like not to have to save you from a spider again." Pandora grinned. "But I think I'd have to settle with you cleaning this place up, or you never know when another spider might come to visit!"

"Clean! Clean! Clean!" Luna repeated at her father's horrified expression.

"I feel like I'm being ganged up on," Xenophilius said morosely.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 4 koalas cuddling: Write about a mother/daughter relationship**


	5. Five Kangaroos

A year away from Privet Drive, and everything seemed to have changed. Their home still blended perfectly among all the other houses that littered the street, but Harry wasn't there anymore. Dudley didn't think he would ever return either, even after making some sort of peace with Dudley: the bitterness and dislike from his parents had only grown from being displaced as they had.

It wasn't the only thing that had changed though. Piers and Malcolm had become crueller, and Dennis and Gordon seemed to have become stupider than Dudley remembered. It was unnatural to continue walking around the neighbourhood with them, silently listening to them plan to corner another fifteen year old, and force the child to hand over all his money, or whatever else they felt like at the time.

Or, perhaps, it was just him that had changed in the last year. It had been a break from the monotony of Privet Drive – it's perfection and worries about inconsequential and childish things – to the real world, where it was a matter of life and death, with no telling which would arrive first.

That was probably why, when they parted, Dudley had been relieved. Listening to his old friends had begun to sicken him; it made him feel terrible about the person he had been – even more than spending the last year thinking had.

"Look, it's little Dudders."

Dudley sighed, watching the quartet stalk towards him. Malcolm had become the leader of the group – Piers had only ever been good at getting himself out of trouble, and being a leader meant you had to take some of the trouble.

"Tired of hiding at home?" Malcolm spoke while the other three snickered, forming a loose semi-circle. "Don't worry, we'll send you right back there."

"I see you're not tired of being four bags of useless," Dudley replied. He still had about an hour until dinner, which gave him enough time to deal with his old friends; maybe he would be able to get them to stop, but Dudley doubted it. Dudley knew he wouldn't have stopped, had he not experienced what he had.

It was his future that interested him more than roaming the streets to feel better about himself. It was growing up and knowing that he could be proud of himself for everything he had managed to accomplish.

Everything would start here, with Dudley burning the last bridge that linked him to his past self.

Dudley punched Malcolm in the face.

Watching the other male go down was satisfying, almost as satisfying as seeing the other three take an unconscious step back. He'd never been the person to hit before, always issuing the commands for others to follow, but the boxing classes he had taken up had taught him to control his punch enough to stun and not gravely injure.

On the street, no one cared about 'not injuring', and if Malcolm ended up with a broken nose as a result, it would only serve as a reminder.

"The four of you need to grow up. You're not going to be depending on your parents for the rest of your life." Dudley frowned at the hand that he had punched Malcolm with; clenching and relaxing his fist. "You will, eventually, but I hope that it's not too late then. For the sake of our past friendship."

They didn't stop him as he left them.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 5 kangaroos: write about Dudley Dursley being bullied**


	6. Six Brolgas Dancing

"What are you doing?"

Remus edged away from the pair of bucking and gyrating males who were supposed to be his friends. They had been given a wide berth by the rest of the staring students. Had he known being at the Yule dance would be this embarrassing, Remus would have holed himself in the Gryffindor dormitories with a good book as company.

"We're dancing!" Sirius replied enthusiastically. "Come join us!"

"Uh, I think I'll pass. Why don't you go ask Peter?"

Remus would readily admit that he was too afraid to being up the question of where James and Sirius had learned to dance as they were. The Slytherins had expressions of growing horror and revulsion, and the Hufflepuffs seemed to be caught between being stunned and repulsed – Remus thought that some of them would be repeating the exact movements in their weekly weekend party.

"We'll ask him too, when we spot him, but you can join us in the mean time!" James added.

"I-I have prefect duties. I have to patrol to make sure the younger years aren't out of bed. I'm, uh, filling in for the Hufflepuff prefect. Have fun?"

It wasn't a question of whether _they_ were having fun; rather, Remus doubted anyone else was going to enjoy the Yule ball if they didn't stop. Remus was only glad Dumbledore had a meeting at the Ministry that year, and wasn't present or the Headmaster would, undoubtedly, have joined the Gryffindors.

The real question was whether he needed to subtly stun them, or slip them some sleeping draught. Either one could be chalked up to exhaustion, and probably would be, by the relieved Hogwarts population.

"Aww, Remy. You always work so hard. You should take a break!"

"Right. I'll just go patrol now."

Remus made sure to back away quickly and ignore all James and Sirius' calls for him to go back and 'relax'. He made sure to grab Lily, Alice, and Frank along the way, and the quartet neared the doors of the Great Hall before Remus stopped moving.

"We need to get them to stop."

"You don't say," Alice commented, rolling her eyes.

Frank snorted. "I don't think anyone could have seen _that_ coming. I wish I could unsee it."

"I can't believe they're so irresponsible! This is a school dance, and we're _seventh years._ Can you imagine the fourth years' impression of their first Yule Ball? It's horrendous, and mentally scarring!" Lily hissed, incensed. "Did you see how pale Regulus was when he saw Sirius?"

A sudden influx of people encroaching on their meeting space had Lily's eyes narrowing.

"Lily, you can't just walk up and stun them!" Alice said in alarm as Lily drew her wand from the holster she had charmed to look like a corsage. Only the prefects had their wands on them, and they had been given strict instructions that it was only for emergencies.

Remus suddenly regretted involving Lily – she had always reacted strongly when James was involved – but he also wasn't sure if he had only delayed the inevitable. Lily's temper had no rival within the walls of Hogwarts, and wouldn't have been tempered by words, but that wouldn't stop Remus from trying.

"Lily, I'm sure we can," Remus began in alarm, before his words began fading in the direction of Lily's stiff back, "figure out another way."

"Frank and I will go do damage control," Alice assured Remus, while cheering broke out on the other half of the hall.

"Our last Yule Dance, and everything is falling apart," Remus muttered, sighing.

"Don't worry, mate. It was memorable, at least," Frank assured Remus.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 6 brolgas dancing: write about a character with embarrassing dance moves**


	7. Seven Possums Playing

"Ariana!"

"No! It was my idea first! _Ariana_!"

Albus and Aberforth raced into the house, trailing mud and broken grass from the garden, each holding a different flower that they'd found. The had forgotten to leave their muddy shoes outside in their haste to find their sister. It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last time either, not until Ariana could follow them out into the garden herself.

Still, Kendra fought to keep a stern expression: she had warned them not to trail dirt into the house since cleaning the floor by the door had to be done the Muggle way lest someone see them using magic. Watching them stumble over themselves, making sure they protected their respective flowers along the way, was endearing, even if she wanted to sigh at their constant need to compare themselves.

Ariana rarely reacted to anyone unless she was hungry or dirty, but even she blinked awake slowly at their antics. Kendra put her down so her boys could huddle around their sister, before sharing an amused smile with Percival as she stepped away.

Albus and Aberforth had been enchanted by Ariana almost as soon as she had been born, only six months ago. Her cries often brought Albus running from his room, book clutched in his hand, to check on her; and no matter how far away Aberforth was, Kendra always saw him race through the door minutes later.

Both boys thrust their flowers towards Ariana, who giggled at them, reaching for both the flowers. They had been plucked from Kendra's flower patch; Kendra could tell by the hastily torn stems that she'd have to visit her flower patch to see the damage before the day was out.

"Ariana likes mine better than yours!" Aberforth argued, pushing a yellow daisy closer to Ariana, making her reach out for it with her chubby fingers.

"No, Aberforth. She likes _mine_ better," Albus insisted, pushing the lily closer, catching Ariana's attention with his fluttering flower. Aberforth frowned when Ariana started reaching for Albus' Lily instead of his daisy.

Kendra was forced to stop the two when it looked like they would come to blows. She had banned them from actively trying to use magic around Ariana – Kendra wasn't about to risk accidents around Ariana – so the two often resorted to Muggle fighting instead.

"I'm sure Ariana likes both of your flowers," Percival interrupted. "If you two want to fight, take it to the training room, otherwise calm down – or better yet, now that Ariana's awake, the two of you can entertain her and give your mother a couple of minutes of rest. How about that?"

Rest sounded great, but Kendra knew she would be more worried if she left to do something else. As much as she knew Albus and Aberforth would do nothing to harm Ariana, they could still make a mistake; just a little bit of carelessness could get Ariana hurt.

They glanced at Kendra for a moment, before nodding excitedly. Albus knew more techniques from all his reading, but Aberforth was always more creative.

Between them, Ariana never lacked entertainment. Kendra never did either.

But Albus and Aberforth didn't need to know that.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 7 possums playing: Write about someone from the Marauder's era or older as young children**


	8. Eight Dingoes Digging

Pansy settled on the bench next to him, smiling sweetly before turning to continue a conversation with Daphne. It sounded like exactly the same one from breakfast. Draco resisted the urge to sigh.

He had been forced to stand Pansy for weeks already. She occupied the seat to his left during meals and whenever he found a spot to relax within the common room – even if that meant conjuring a seat for herself. The conversation with Blaise, who usually sat on his right, was the only blessing that stopped him from storming off to the dormitory – which the girl could still enter freely with Hogwarts' unfair system. Father had insisted that he not insult Pansy, and Draco was trying his best not to let his frustration show, since the Parkinson family were still influential and one of their stronger allies amongst the Pureblood families.

Draco wished they weren't, just so he could have Pansy bother someone else. Vincent and Gregory had proven to be better company than Pansy, and that was saying a lot. Despite believing that he enjoyed the attention, and he had in the beginning when he didn't understand what it would result in, Draco simply hated the attention Pansy gave him – she was frivolous and cared for little that didn't affect her directly. It was nothing like the soothing attention his mother gave him, nor the more hidden kindness of his father.

She hoped they would wed after graduation – Draco shuddered at the very suggestion. His father had brought the conversation up, and offered Pansy as a possible future Lady Malfoy – it would grow the Malfoy vaults, with Pansy being the sole heir of the Parkinson family

Having to interact with Pansy on a daily level for seven years now, Draco had hoped that she would have changed – that she would have changed in a manner that wasn't purely physical. He'd hoped that she'd grow into decent conversation that didn't centre around how attractive the boys of each house were; that she would do something other than smile and bat her eyelashes at him.

Stabbing his lunch with a fork, Draco watched as the Great Hall slowly filled with the dregs of exhausted students – it was nearly Winter break, after all, and everyone simply wanted to go home. The expected homework for the holiday was piling up at a rapid pace, and the few who wished to truly enjoy the break were rushing to complete the work. He would have a Yule celebration to suffer through with Pansy for company, but the rest of those precious few days would be spent in relieved relaxation.

He simply hoped he would not be welcomed home with Pansy's complaints of him not spending enough time with her. Pansy had done that before the Summer holidays, and Draco had been forced to invite her to Malfoy Manor, or accept her invitation to the Parkinson home, every other week.

Draco had made sure to invite Blaise and Theo to Malfoy Manor on the days his mother hadn't planned anything. The two had agreed with knowing smiles, and a promise from Draco of helping them in the future.

He wasn't going to risk Pansy ruining Yule.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 8 dingoes digging: write about a character dating someone for information/benefits**


	9. Nine Wombats Working

There was little paperwork when you only had one other employee and barely anyone needing help, and that was why Arthur often found himself bored within his department.

Few witches and wizards bothered to enchant Muggle items, and fewer still would send the enchanted items into the Muggle world for an unsuspecting Muggle to find – there were still some who did, though, but they were few and that was the only reason he had a job to begin with.

Removing curses, as interesting as it was, wasn't anything like removing curses from Dark Artefacts as they did a couple of floors above him, but it was also less dangerous. Molly certainly liked the fact that the worst thing in his job was the possibility of having his fingers nibbled at, or the confusion that came with a key that seemed to continuously be disappearing.

The boredom was still there, though. Arthur was certain most people would be glad to be paid to do a job where there was little, if any, work to be done. The only time his office got more busy was during the holidays, when gifts were given to relatives - sometimes gifts people hadn't realised were enchanted.

It was surrounded by hundreds of Muggle Artefacts, large and small, with nothing else to do that had originally ignited his curiosity about the uses of the devices. As a Pureblood, he had never been able to examine the oddities of the Muggles - and their creativity to thrive without the use of magic. Arthur wouldn't have believed it, and often still didn't.

Enchanting the objects himself had been a natural next step. What would be the best way to counteract the enchantments? By knowing how the enchantments were done in the first place - or to be able to assume, and then find a weak spot to remove the enchantment.

That was how Arthur explained it, at least. Molly probably knew differently when he explained it to her, but she hadn't said anything, choosing to ignore the fact that her husband had an unusual interest in Muggles. Arthur thought she might have even chalked it up to him being more interested in his job, which usually boded well for a promotion.

She was quiet until he brought the enchanted car home and began spending time enchanting the car. The Ministry had a few cars of their own, Arthur had seen them and the Notice-Me-Not charms on the car, and had wanted to copy it.

It was a hobby of sorts, and it staved off the boredom he felt returning from the nearly abandoned office; and it did help make going to the Ministry everyday a little easier. It meant a day of thinking about how to fix the problems that had come up while enchanting the car the previous day.

But it also started bothering Molly when he would step out of the floo, drop his suitcase, and head straight for the shed, only leaving when he heard her calling them for dinner.

To the point where she charmed the shed shut, and refused to acknowledge his pleas to unlock it.

(Facing Molly's wrath by removing the enchantments himself wasn't worth it.)

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 9 Wombats Working: Write about Arthur Weasley**


	10. Ten Lizards Leaping

"Leaping lizards!" James cursed, batting at the flames that engulfed his arm. He had been trying to transfigure Lily a gift for Christmas for the last three hours.

"Dude, you sound like my grandfather!" Sirius informed James in his silliest voice after a few minutes. "And you _definitely_ don't want to sound like another insane Black."

James glanced around the dorm room. Remus lounged on his bed, looking amused. Remus probably knew the exact incantation and wand movements to create a perfect lily flower, but James knew better than to ask the sandy-haired male.

Remus was a Marauder like the rest of them, and preferred to keep his pranking targeted at him, Sirius, or Peter - it kept them out of trouble, and that was probably the only reason James didn't complain as much as he would have otherwise. This wasn't something he was willing to mess up - or willing to allow Lily to know who the gift was from - James wanted Lily to keep the gift instead of throwing it at him the next time they saw each other.

Peter came bounding, arms full of Transfiguration books. "I found these in the library. I thought you may want to look through them for your... project. They looked kind of helpful?" Peter dumped the books on James' bed, and returned to his own, next to Remus'.

"Thanks, Peter!"

"I think this is the hardest I've ever seen James study. Don't you agree, Remus?"

Remus snorted. "Remember last year when he _tried_ to send Lily the snitch he enchanted with Christmas tunes last year? I think that may have been a little more effort."

"It would have worked out, had you actually helped me out, Moony," James whined, looking up from the tome he had started flipping through.

"You're supposed to be the Transfiguration pro. I mean, didn't you hear McGonagall gush about your talent for Transfiguration? You shouldn't have had such a terrible time of it." Remus grinned, watching as James slumped forward on his bed.

"It's the only class Lily sits near me. I had to do _something_ to make her notice me!"

"James, mate, with the way you behave, anyone would believe you and Lily were in separate houses," Sirius sniggered.

"Don't worry, James, I'm sure you'll get it to work this year," Peter enthused between Sirius and Remus' laughter.

"You keep working on it, James. I'm sure you'll get it right eventually. If not this year, maybe next year, or the year after that... hopefully some time before you graduate, or I think Lily will forget about you," Sirius teased.

"Imagine the horror," Remus added. "Sounding like another insane Black won't even be the worst of it!"

"I don't know why I'm even friends with you two. Peter is the only one being helpful right now," James groused.

"You're clearly friends with us because of our stunning personalities," Sirius said, smirking.

"I think he's just friends with us for the homework and prefect benefits," sniffed Remus.

"I do all my homework myself, thank you!" James argued.

"Except Potions."

"And History of Magic."

"And-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. Can I just go back to transfiguring this now?" James whined.

Sirius and Remus high-fived.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 10 lizards leaping: dialogue prompt**


	11. Eleven Numbats Nagging

There were only so many times you could listen to something so terrible you feared your ears may not survive the experience, and choose to ignore the horror.

For Filius, the truth was that he could no longer listen to the school-wide rendition of the Hogwarts School song. He'd flinched and winced through too many of them, each more terrible than the last - the tears in his eyes each time weren't from reminiscing of his own school days, like the tears that clung to Albus' eyes.

He honestly didn't know who believed having everyone sing their own tunes was a good idea, but that person deserved to be tortured by a thousand banshees for the rest of their lives.

(It was Albus' fault. It was always Albus' fault.)

"Albus, I'm starting a choir to lead the school song," Filius stated. He wasn't going to take a refusal as an answer. Filius did not care what he would have to do to get the permission he needed, but he would involve Minerva if it came down to it.

"What a marvellous idea, Filius! I'll leave it to you to bring more joy to the walls of Hogwarts with music," Albus said, looking delighted. "I dare say even members of the staff may want to join."

Personally, Filius knew that he'd rather not have the staff participating, since he knew Albus would be the first to volunteer.

Having a single poster up on each of the Common Rooms' noticeboards was all it took to draw a group of fourteen to his office in the evening, in the hope of being a part of the choir. Most of them were Muggleborns who were part of their previous school's choir - and so had a better idea of what a choir was meant to be than he did - with only two Purebloods, whom had been dragged along with their Muggleborn friends, and a single half-blood Hufflepuff.

It was enough to start off with. A couple of Sonorus charms would boost the volume of their singing, and they could also bring in smaller creatures to assist with the sound if they had to later on.

Mutually agreeing to meet on Thursday evenings, after dinner, they had parted ways on that first night; the students with a sense of excitement, and Filius with a feeling is gratitude, that was coated in relief, towards his students.

They were willing to join him in trying something new. They weren't all First Years, but the majority were. Filius thought that after their initial run next year, he would have more people join the Choir - and eventually they could even make a little club of it.

He wouldn't need to listen to the horrid rendition of the Hogwarts song again; instead, he would be leading a delightful choir in a beautiful rendition of song. He would make sure the choir was ready to welcome the staff and students during the next Welcome Feast.

Failure was not an option.

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 11 numbats nagging: Write about Filius Flitwick trying to start the school choir**


	12. Twelve Parrots Prattling

For all his childhood years, Christmas had always been like a second birthday - it meant embarrassing hugs and kisses from his mother, and more presents than the previous year. It meant that his father would proudly show him off to his work associates, and claim that he was the best son in the world.

It meant mocking Harry because he had none of those - not the gifts, nor the parents. Somehow, back then, doing that just made Dudley feel better about himself; and he didn't like thinking about why.

It was different now.

There were no presents. There was no one to dote on him, and Dudley rarely even left his apartment during Christmas. He didn't want to see everyone else have what he once had. He didn't want to see people his age happy with their significant other, when his own personality had proven to be too terrible to make new friends after Malcolm and Piers.

That had been years ago, only a couple of months after they had returned to Privet Drive from hiding during Harry's war. His parents had moved to France, and rarely visited - Privet Drive apparently reminding them of magic and Harry and everything they would rather forget.

Three raps on the door startled him out of his musing. Dudley was slow to stand, having not expected visitors. The neighbours usually left him alone since he kept himself out of their way. He didn't understand how his mother could keep up with the gossip that flew at lightning speeds down Privet Drive. It simply made his head spin.

Harry stood outside his door, glancing around uncomfortably. Dudley could spot the flickering of the curtain of the house across the road.

"Dudley," Harry greeted, relieved. "I was starting to wonder if you'd gone out to celebrate Yule."

Dudley allowed his surprise to show, and ushered his cousin into the house. "I didn't expect to see you."

"I wasn't entirely sure I would come either." Harry laughed, walking further into the house. "Are you alone, or have I missed all the guests?"

"Nah. I rarely have guests over for Christmas," Dudley said, shrugging. The television blared from the lounge, and Dudley hurried to mute it.

"Do you want to come over and celebrate with us? I mean, if you think you'll be comfortable around magic," Harry asked after a long pause. "It won't be much like you're used to, but I reckon it's still probably better than being alone."

If Dudley were to be completely honest, he wasn't sure if he would be welcome. He still remembered Harry's friends have to break the bars on his bedroom window to escape with Harry; and the tall redheads that gave him the terrible sweet that made his tongue awfully long.

"No sweets?" Dudley asked cautiously.

Harry's expression tightened minutely. "I can't promise no pranks, but there probably won't be many. And they definitely will try to target as many of us as possible."

Dudley didn't think that was much reassurance, but looking at his abandoned house, Privet Drive was even less assurance.

"If you're sure no one will mind," Dudley said finally, uncertainly.

"I think they'll mind more if they knew you were celebrating alone."

* * *

 **The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 12 parrots prattling: Write about Dudley Dursley during Christmas**


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